Well, not exactly. Mabe allegedly told his family that kidnappers were holding him against his will, the Register Citizen reports. But later that night, police took him in for making the whole thing up.

Mabe, 21, reportedly sent his family in Pennsylvania a text message about his “kidnapping.” The family then contacted police in Torrington, and the story unraveled from there.

The Register Citizen reports that detectives were able to reach Mabe through text messages, and they found him unharmed in the downtown area of Torrington. Mabe changed his story a few times before ultimately admitting that he lied, Lt. Bruce Whiteley told the Register.

Whiteley also told the paper that Mabe has mental health issues, and that his motivation for fabricating the story could have been to “manipulate” his family members.